Image and Influence

People of stature do not emerge in a vacuum but are influenced by cultural, environmental, psychosocial, economic, and other factors. Father J. D. K. Baker was one of these people of stature. Priest of the Episcopal Church in Liberia, he was a great religious and spiritual leader, a role model in Liberia.

In Image and Influence, author Bertha Baker Azango offers a biography of Baker's life to help appreciate his deep emotional commitment, his trials and difficulties, and the rationales behind his selfless benevolence and virtuous disposition. Marking the centennial anniversary of his birth, 1893 to 1993, this story about his lineage, life, and work is based on documentary evidence from his family Bible, a diary he kept for forty-five years, and personal experiences reported orally by his children, nephews, nieces, and others associated with his family.

Image and Influence documents Baker's five visions received throughout forty-seven years, beginning with his early vision at age eleven and later dreams that gave purpose to a boy who lived on the coast of West Africa when it was called "dark." Baker's prophetic dreams predicted civil wars and migration of Liberians to become refugees.

A story of faith, determination, and love of God and family, Image and Influence is filled with historical events, discoveries, glamour, pain, sadness, and joy. It interweaves Baker's story with the real-life happenings of the Grebo people and others in Liberia. It shows how one man's love and abiding faith in God could, and did, move an entire country.